Straw and grain separator



UNITED sTATEs PATENT orrioE.I

ARCHIBALD BOWEN, OF WADESVILLE, VIRGINIA.

STRAW AND GRAIN SEPARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 11,824, dated October` 24, 1854.`

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ARCHIBALD BOWEN, of VVadesville, in the county ofClark and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Grain-Separators; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, forming part ofthis specification, which represents a vertical longitudinal section ofthe separator.

My invention consists in combining in a manner hereafter to bedescribed, two reciprocating beds, the upper perforated and inclinedtoward the foot of the machine, and the lower inclined toward the head,so that the grain and straw shall be received from the threshingcylinder upon the upper bed, which while it causes the straw to traverseits entire length and leave the machine at its foot, permits the grainto fall through its perforatio-ns upon the lower bed, which by itsinclination and reciprocating motion carries the grain to the chaffseparating portion of the machine, where by blast and screens the grainis thoroughly cleaned; the peculiar arrangement and construction of thescreen forming also. a novel feature of my machine, which will be fullyset forth in this specification.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawing A is the threshing cylinder revolving as shown by arrow land acting on the over threshing principle, the grain and straw enteringas indicated by arrow 2; a suitable feeding hopper being provided forthe purpose, but as this portion of the machine is well known and formsno part of my claim a detailed description is not here given; thethreshing arrangement need not necessarily be such as above setI forth,as the machine is equally well adapted to the ordinary under threshingcylinder and concave.

B is the upper bed composed of sheet metal, having the perforations apunched in it from the top; these perforatio-ns diminish in size from Z)to o. The upper extremity of this bed is supported by the bar c which byreason of two cranks Z (one at each extremity of the bar) revolvesaround the shaft c, causing the end Z) of bed to rise and fall, andreciprocate longitudinally; two straps z' keeping the bed upon the baro, as

the bar moves around the shaft e. This bed is jointed at g, and issupportedl near that joint by the long arms L, of two bent levers C,placed one on each side ofthe bed. `The extremity b is supported by thearms la of two bent levers D. i

The lower bed E which is a plain sheet of metal, inclines toward thehead of the ma chine, and is supported by the arms lc of levers D., armsL of levers C, and at the head by two levers Z one on each side of thebed. The arms F of the bed E are jointed with the rods G connecting thebed E with the levers D, and through which motion `is communicated tothe bed E from the bed B.

The levers Z besides sustaining the head of the bed E, also support oneextremity of the screens m and n; the other ends of those screens beingsupported by the levers Z and l, t-hese levers have their fulcra at g gg.

The termination of the screen m` is an inclined plane 79. connected withthe screen by the steeper plane r, the object of which will be hereafterfully set forth.

P is the fan revolving as shown by arrow 3, within the chamber H, and Sis a spout which receives the cleaned grain and conveys it outside ofthe machine to the wheel WV, which discharges it into bags.

S is one of the sides of the machine. The beds B and E are soconstructed as to be capable of separation at g g for facility oftransportation.

V is the driving wheel to which power is applied in any suitable manner,in the drawing it is represented as being rotated by the crank K; thiswheel gives motion to the wheel X and through it to the pinion Y, fordriving the threshing cylinder and rotating the shaft e.

The operation of my separator is as follows: The grain and straw afterpassing through the threshing arrangement as in dica-ted by arrows l and2, is carried over a grating beneath the cylinder, one of the bars ofwhich is represented by t, this permits a large proportion of the grainand chaff to fall at once upon the bed B, while the remainder togetherwith the straw, on leaving the grating is receivedon the same bed, whichby the shaft e and connect-ion with the crank d, is continually raised,lowered,`

and reciprocated so as to give the straw a motion in the direction ofarrow 4, while the grain and chaff presses through the perforations o;to the lower bed E, which by reason ceives the blast from the fan I),which car-` ries with it the chaff, and permits the grain to passthrough the screen m to the screen n, and through this latter to theinclined board 0, which passes it to the spout S, through Vwhich itproceeds to the wheel W. Should it be. desired to separate cockle fromthe grain, the board 0 can be withdrawn, permitting the grain to bereceived on the screen u, through which the cockle will pass to theboard o, while the grain will pass over the screen u to the spout S andreach the wheelVV as before described.

The cover I which extends across the machine above the screens, leavesbut the passage J for the issue of the current of air from the fan,causing it as it sweeps over the screen m and up the inclined plane r inthe direction of arrow 6, to create an-eddy at the point where the planer bends into the plane p, and thereby cause any grain which may becarried by the blast to drop upon the plane p, and rolling back passthrough the screen m. The slide w when drawn out catches the tailings,if any, and causes them by the board to fall into a receptacle placedunder they machine. f

The rotation of the wheel X produces the motion of the entire separatingapparatus;

the cranks d reciprocating and shaking the` bed B, which motion of thebed B through the levers C and D reciprocates the bed E,

which in its turn gives motion to the levers Z causing lthereclprocation of the several screens. The fan P and wheel W are revolvedby bands from the shaft Z and are the only portion of the machine whichreceive metio-n by bands and pulleys.

The Ysimplicity of the construction and operation of this machinerenders it a valuable improvement in' grain separators, as

. nesses.

the grain being received on the upper bed is'thoroughly separated fromthe straw during its passage over the bed, and by the action of the bedE descends in the opposite direction to the mill, while the straw passesover the tail of the machine; thus eifectually making the firstseparation. The second separation is no less thorough, as the grainreceives the blast under the best possible circumstances to insure theblowing 0E of the chaff, while from the confining of the blast above thescreen m, and the arrangement of the inclined planes 1" and p, theliability of the grain to be blown olf is greatly diminished. Thefurther separation of the grain from cckle which the screen u admits of,is important, and adds to the completeness of the arrangement of theseveral parts of the machine.

What I claim as my invention and desire i to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The method of separating the grain and chaff from the straw, by thecombination of the inclined vibrating bed E with the vperforated jointedbed B, arranged and op-` eratingl substantially as herein fully setforth; so that the' grain and chaff are separated from the straw, andthe straw conveyed over the foot of the machine by the bed B, while thebed E conveys the grain and chaff in the opposite direction, and'submits the same to the action of the fan blast for further separation.g

2. .The extending of the upper screen m by the double inclined plane op, in combination with a. blast compressed by a covering I above thescreen, for the purpose that an eddy may be formedby the blast, and thegrain if carried too Vfar by the blast be returned upon the inclinedplane p to screen V.

ARGHIBALD BOWEN.

litnesses z GEO. PATTEN, SAML. GRUBB.

